Lacing-button.



PATBNTED APR. 12, 1904.

A. L. COLE. LAGING BUTTON. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1902- NO MODEL.

Gig 1 em 60462121 .(lflllim mcloth work to receive the lacing-string orbut-' UNITED STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE. I

LACING-FBUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 757,025, dated April12, 1904..

Application filed November 19, 1902. $eria1No. 131,930. (No model.)

T on whom it may concern:

burndale, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Lacing-Buttons for Boots andShoes and other Purposes, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. My inventionrelates to the manufacture of lacing-buttons adapted to be inserted inboots, shoes, and gloves and in other leather and tonhole or for suchother purposes to which the invention might be applicable; and itconsists, essentially, of a stud having a hollow tubular shank, one endbeing closed and having a shoulder or flange to secure the device to Ithe material or fabric and-an upper rounded neck which spreads at itsupper end to form a flat head which. is adapted to hold a semisphericalbutton of composition, all to be hereinafter more particularlydescribed.

In the accompanying drawings, showing my invention on a greatly-enlargedscale, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the improvedlacing-button. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is adetail view of the side elevation, showing the stud or rivet before thehead is applied. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of thelacing-button set inthe material. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of amodified form of the stud or rivet before the head is applied. Fig. 6 isa side elevation of the same modification shown in Fig. 5, but viewedfrom a different angle and showing the neck split and bent down.

In carrying out my invention the rivet A is made by taking wire of adiameter just equal to the diameter of the rivet A at its widestportionnamely, at the shoulder a and in a rivet-making machine formingtherefrom rivets having a lower rounded shank, a shoulder, a neck, and aflat head. The shank or body a of the rivet is of smaller diameter thanthe shoulder a at its upper end, and above the shoulder a is the neck aof small diameter, which at its upper end is spread or flattened out toform the fiat. head a. The shank a is made tubular by drilling out itscenter to a point just below the shoulder a, and

l the shell of the shank is made so thin that it Be it known that I,ALBERTL. COLE, of Aumay be easily spread and turned outward when it isbeing secured to a piece of leather or other material substantially inthe samemanner that eyelets or tubular rivets are now-up set. After therivet A has been completed the cap B is made of rubber composition,papier-mfich, celluloid, or any other suitable plastic material andmolded around the head a of the rivet in the form of a button ofmushroom-like shapethat is, (see Fig. 4,) the distances between theunder surface of said button and the adjacent surface of said shoulderwhen measured along the line of radial curvature of said under surfacedecrease and then increase as said line approaches the shank.

The sizes of and the relations between the shoulder, under surface, andshank are such that when a lacing-string or material in which abuttonhole is made is drawn into engagement with said surface and shankthe outer portion of said lacing-string is compressed, fills theentering portion of said space between said surfaces, and preventsclothingas, for example, the bindings of a womans dress from beingcaught on the under portion of said button, while the inner portion ofsaid lacing or material, being relieved of compression by the greaterspace about the stem and having to be recompressed between said surfacebefore said lacing or material and the button can be disengaged, tendsto lock said lacing or material within the button, and thus preventssaid disengagement. After the button has been hardened by drying orother means it may be enameled in any desired color. If desired, the capor head B may be made of rubber composition and vulcanized until it isfirm, yet so elastic that the edges of the cap will give and bend to amoderate degree should anything catch under the edge of the cap, thuspreventing tearing the garments.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a modified form of the stud or rivet A, inwhich the neck a is, instead of being flattened to form the head a madelonger and of diminishing diameter, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The neck ais then split from the top for about half its length, and the two partsa and a are bent over 1n opposite directions in such a way as to form,

with the neck, a T. In Fig. 5 the neck is shown as being split, and theprongs a and a are shown by the dotted lines in their final horizontalposition. Fig. 6 shows the prongs a and a bent downward, but viewed fromone side and end onto the prong a.

It is obvious that the method of attaching the head or button to therivet or stud may be varied to suit the size of the button or its use,

and the size and shape of the button may be 1. As a new article ofmanufacture, a lacing- I button, made up of a securing member or bodyhaving a shoulder; a neck, and a head, covered with plastic material,which, when hardened, has a smooth surface; the outer portion of saidsurface adjacent to the surface of the shoulder, being oblique to thatof the shoulder and forming with said latter surface, a space betweensaid shoulder and said head-covering,

adapted to be filled by a lacing-string or the like, that part of saidadjacent surface of the head-covering, not covered by said lacing or thelike, having an obliquity that permits garments to rub over said exposedpart without catching thereon.

2. A lacing-button consisting of a body provided with a shoulder; acentrally-disposed neck; and a head with a covering of plastic material,whlch, when hardened, has a smooth surface, said head and coveringforming a button, the under surface of said button having toward theneck, a curvature approaching, and then receding from, the adjacentsurface of the shoulder; said surfaces and said neck being designed andproportioned to be adapted to be engaged by a lacing or the like; theouter part of said lacing or the like being compressed and-filling theentrance to the space formed between said shoulder shank andhead-covering; and the portion of said surface, uncovered bysaid lacingor the like, having such obliquity asto prevent garments catchingthereon; while the inner part of said lacing or the like, expanding inthe space about the neck, and thus by offering resistance tocompression, tends to retain the lacing or thelike in the grip of thelacing-button.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, this 11th day of November,

ALBERT L. COLE. Witnesses:

A. I. CRAWFORD, A. L. HODGDON.

